Spring Cleaning

Students Begin Their Break Sprucing Up New Home

Delray Beach — They wore plastic gloves and school T-shirts -- not the typical attire of students starting Spring Break.

They got up early Saturday morning, meeting at school about 7 a.m. Surely, that is not normal.

Instead of indulging in extra sleep or lounging at home, students from Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice spent the morning cleaning up part of the community.

They started around their school in the Delray Square shopping plaza and fanned out along the sidewalks and in the parking lot, picking up cigarette butts, water bottles and other trash. The school's 200 students settled into their new location in the strip mall in January, after hurricane damage and an expiring lease prompted the move west to Atlantic Avenue and Military Trail.

"Because this is a new site, we want our students to be part of the community and to give something back to the community," said Joseph Bernadel, school chief operating officer. "We want them to be seen in a positive light."

About 25 students came for the cleanup, which also earned them community-service credit required for graduation.

But the school, with its focus on social justice, often does volunteer work. For example, one Thursday a month, students work at the Caring Kitchen in Delray Beach, preparing food for the homeless, said Sandy Blovad, who teaches health, life-management skills and fitness.

Saturday's cleanup also was a way to make a good impression on the neighboring business owners and shoppers in plaza.

"We're the new kids on the block and we need to demonstrate to our neighbors that we are responsible and care about the environment," Blovad said.

Students Ritchine Berretch, 20, and Daphne Cius, 18, worked side by side, using metal trash-picking tools to slip the waste into the same bag.

"I just like helping the community," said Berretch, of Boynton Beach. "I want to help the environment of the mall, to make it look better."

If it weren't for the cleanup, Berretch said, she would be working at Publix. Cius, on the other hand, said she would be watching TV or sleeping.

Cius, of Delray Beach, said the volunteer work is fun, especially when she can chat and joke around with Berretch. Both women want to study nursing after they graduate.

The charter school, which opened five years ago, has students ranging from 15-21 years old. Most are Haitian, making language skills and assimilation the biggest challenges, Blovad said.

Student Samuel Jasmin, 20, said he was surprised to see so many tossed cigarette butts: "It seems like they smoke more than they eat," he said, laughing.

Jasmin plans to spend the rest of his Spring Break playing basketball and working. When he graduates he wants to study to be a personal trainer.

But, for Saturday, the volunteer work was about taking pride in the community.

"I think it's a good idea just to show the people of Delray how grateful we are, that we appreciate being here," said Jasmin, of Delray Beach. "It's the least we could do."

Patty Pensa can be reached at ppensa@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6609.